Exim MTA Integration

Exim Smarthost
Configuration

Smarthost setup with Exim router, transport and AUTH settings. All emails sent from your Exim MTA servers (non-cPanel) are delivered through the MXGate smarthost with authentication.

Exim 4.94+ manualroute AUTH LOGIN + TLS

What does this guide do?
Ensures all emails sent from your Exim MTA servers (non-cPanel) are delivered through the MXGate smarthost (with authentication).

Prerequisites

Root access
Exim 4.94+ installed and running
SMTP username and password created from MXGate panel
TLS/SSL support (GnuTLS or OpenSSL)

Important Warning
Exim configuration file is edited directly. Incorrect configuration can stop all mail traffic. ALWAYS backup before proceeding!

Setup Steps

Step-by-Step Exim Configuration

Backup Exim Configuration File

Take a backup of the Exim configuration file just in case:

# Exim yapılandırma dosyasının yerini bulun: exim -bP configure_file # Genellikle: sudo cp /etc/exim/exim.conf /etc/exim/exim.conf.backup.$(date +%Y%m%d) # veya: sudo cp /etc/exim4/exim4.conf.template /etc/exim4/exim4.conf.template.backup.$(date +%Y%m%d)

Router Definition

Add the following router definition to the begin routers section in your Exim configuration file:

# begin routers bölümünde, diğer router'lardan ÖNCE ekleyin: # ============================================ # MXGate Smarthost Router # ============================================ mxgate_smarthost: driver = manualroute domains = ! +local_domains transport = mxgate_smtp route_list = * smtp.mxgate.com.tr::587 no_more no_verify

Place this router BEFORE dnslookup or default smart host router. Otherwise emails will try to send directly.

Transport Definition

Add the following transport definition to the begin transports section in your Exim configuration file:

# begin transports bölümüne ekleyin: # ============================================ # MXGate SMTP Transport # ============================================ mxgate_smtp: driver = smtp hosts = smtp.mxgate.com.tr port = 587 hosts_require_auth = smtp.mxgate.com.tr hosts_require_tls = smtp.mxgate.com.tr tls_verify_certificates = /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt

Adjust tls_verify_certificates path according to your distribution (for CentOS: /etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt)

AUTH (Authentication) Definition

Add the following authentication definition to the begin authenticators section in your Exim configuration file:

# begin authenticators bölümüne ekleyin: # ============================================ # MXGate SMTP Authentication # ============================================ mxgate_auth: driver = plaintext public_name = LOGIN client_send = : MXGATE_KULLANICI_ADI : MXGATE_SIFRE .ifndef AUTH_CLIENT_ALLOW_NOTLS_PASSWORDS client_condition = ${if eq{$tls_out_cipher}{}{}{*}} .endif

Security: Replace MXGATE_USERNAME and MXGATE_PASSWORD with actual credentials from MXGate panel. Format: : username : password (starts with colon)

The client_condition line ensures passwords are only sent over TLS encrypted connections.

Verify Configuration and Restart

Check the configuration file syntax before applying changes:

# Syntax kontrolü: exim -bV # Detaylı syntax kontrolü: exim -C /etc/exim/exim.conf -bV # Hata yoksa Exim'i yeniden başlat: systemctl restart exim # veya: service exim restart # veya: /etc/init.d/exim restart

# Servis durumunu kontrol edin: systemctl status exim # Exim süreçlerini kontrol edin: ps aux | grep exim

Testing and Verification

Test if the configuration is working:

# Test e-postası gönder: echo "Subject: Test" | exim -v test@example.com # Exim loglarını izle: tail -f /var/log/exim/mainlog # veya: tail -f /var/log/exim4/mainlog # veya: tail -f /var/log/mail.log

# Başarılı bağlantı görmelisiniz: "smtp.mxgate.com.tr [IP]:587 connected" "TLS: using cipher TLSv1.3..." "250 OK id=xxx" "=> test@example.com R=mxgate_smarthost" # Hata görebilirsiniz: "535 Incorrect authentication data" "connection refused"

# Exim debug modunda çalıştırma: exim -d -Mvl <message-id> # Router debug: exim -d -bt test@example.com

Success! All your outgoing emails are now delivered encrypted and authenticated through MXGate.

Debian/Ubuntu Exim4 Specific

Debian/Ubuntu systems may use Exim4 "split configuration". In this case:

# Split configuration kullanıyorsanız: sudo nano /etc/exim4/conf.d/router/150_mxgate sudo nano /etc/exim4/conf.d/transport/30_mxgate sudo nano /etc/exim4/conf.d/auth/30_mxgate # Yapılandırmayı yeniden oluştur: sudo update-exim4.conf sudo systemctl restart exim4 # Veya tek dosya moduna geç: sudo dpkg-reconfigure exim4-config # "internet site; mail is sent and received directly using SMTP" seç

Troubleshooting

Common Errors

How do I fix the "535 Incorrect authentication data" error in Exim?

Username/password incorrect. Check client_send format in AUTH section: : username : password

Why does Exim throw the "router omitted: no_more flag set" error?

Router order is wrong. Ensure mxgate_smarthost router is placed BEFORE dnslookup.

How do I resolve the "TLS required but not available" error in Exim?

Exim may not be compiled with TLS support. Or tls_verify_certificates file may not be found.

Why does the Exim smarthost return a "Connection refused" error?

Firewall may be blocking port 587. Ensure your server IP is in MXGate whitelist.

How do I fix the "Unrecognized option" error in the Exim configuration?

There is a syntax error. Check spaces and tab characters. Exim is very sensitive to whitespace.

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